


They Carried The Sky

by OuyangDan



Series: Till the World Stops Ending [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 17:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1787068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OuyangDan/pseuds/OuyangDan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During her exile, Kahrin becomes a mentor to a new Warden.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set during the events of "A Queen's Regrets". The title is from Tim O'Brien's THE THINGS THEY CARRIED.

The sharp crack of the axe preceded the parting of the wood by a hair's width of a second. Kahrin split clean through the log in one swing, stopping to toss the pieces aside and wiping her brow, before laying another upon the stump. Hard work could be cleansing in it’s own way. 

She took one more swing to lodge the axe into the stump. A lock of hair had shaken loose and she tucked back into the twin coiled braids at the back of her head. She stooped to start gathering the split logs into her arms.

Daily training occupied her time. Hard labour cleared her mind and kept her too tired to remember her dreams. It helped the years of exile pass without falling back on grief.

“Constable?” the voice from behind her shook her out of the idle thoughts of people doing things by rote. “You’re the Warden-Constable, yes?”

It was an empty title. They couldn’t call her a Commander any longer. Because she’d ended a Blight, however, it would have reflected poorly to strip her of rank entirely. She nodded her ascension. “That’s me.”

Her words dropped tersely. “High-Constable sent me to you. Said you would help me settle in.”

Kahrin’s lips thinned as she scrutinized her for a few moments. Young, but they all were anymore. The pallor of her cheeks and the strength of the buzz which pulled in her said young in her conscription as well.

“Fine.” She jerked her chin at the pile of wood. “Grab a load and let’s go.” She took three steps and turned to face her again. “Can you handle it?”

The young woman met her eyes, frowning. “I lived on a farm. I--”

Kahrin shook her head to quiet her. “I mean are you recovered?”

She blinked. “Recovered?”

“From your Joining. It leaves some people fatigued for days.” She turned and started walking again, not waiting to see if she was followed. The pull of fresh taint and sound of quick steps on the hardened ground was enough to know.

“Oh, no, I’m fine!” There was a pregnant pause. “You’re Fereldan.” It wasn’t a question.

“I was, once. Yes. Good ear.”

“Oh.” She reached Kahrin’s side on long legs, keeping up with her quick stride easily. “Me too. We left during the Blight. My family, I mean.” Another long pause. “Most of us, anyway. I’m Bethany. Hawke.”

“I didn’t ask.” She flicked her eyes to the side in time to see Bethany frown, then sighed. “Apologies, Warden Hawke. I don’t give tours. Constable knows that. I have no idea why they sent you to me.”

“It was Commander Stroud’s idea.”

Kahrin looked at her flatly. She still had that sweet face of someone who didn’t know what she was in for yet. Her eyes held something else. “Because you’re Fereldan.”

“That was my guess, too.” 

It sounded like Stroud’s idea of a joke. Stroud, not having a sense of humor that she was aware of unless it was kept in his mustache, probably believed this was amusing. “ Then I guess we’re stuck together. What’s your story?”

“My story?”

Kahrin made a soft snort as they reached the wood pile, dropping her armful. “Baby Warden. Half of you can’t shut up about it. Get chatty. Other half?” She shrugged, taking some of the wood from Bethany’s arms and piling it. “Look like you, get dragged in here, spitting nails and hissing like wet cats. And they all want to tell their Joining stories.”

“Oh.” She pushed a bit of dark hair out of her long brown eyes. “In the Deep Roads on an expedition. Beneath Kirkwall. We ran across some straggling darkspawn, and I took a wound.” She made a sound between a snort and a laugh. “My sister thought I’d be better off here than dead. I’m still undecided.”

The way she said sister told Kahrin not to pick at it. She let out a sharp, audible, breath. She stood, clapping her hands together to brush dirt and bits of wood from them. “That was foolish. The deep roads are dangerous without a Dwarf guide or a Grey Warden.”

“We had both,” Bethany said quietly, almost through her teeth. 

Kahrin lifted an eyebrow. “There’s no Grey Warden outpost in Kirkwall.”

Bethany tilted her head a moment. “He’s Fereldan. Or he was. Like us.”

There was a long silence broken only by a warbler. Kahrin stared at her for the duration. “Where are your things?”

“My things?” She plucked at the strap of a pack on her back. “Only what’s on my back. But I’m used to living from it.”

“Apostate?”

She nodded.

Kahrin smiled for the first time. “Good. You’re more fun to train.” She chuckled, hollow and more to herself than to Bethany, walking with her into the fortress proper. They circled a group of young wardens running combat drills. She lead her to the barracks and held the door. “They send me the mages. And this is where you’ll live. For now.” 

The barracks laid out in an open bay, lines of cots on either wall. Some had bedrolls neatly at the end, and others remained unclaimed. A small table with a bowl and pitcher sat beneath a mirror next to each one. Bethany walked up the room delicately as if it were a garden, her face pulled downward gravely. 

“Any one?”

“Mmhmm. You can trade later if it doesn’t work out.” Kahrin crossed the room to a cupboard and opened it. “You have on maille. We have robes for mages, but there are lighter sets of armour if you prefer. We can tailor it down later.”

“Robes, I guess?” She set her things down on a bunk, then sagged onto it as if she hadn’t sat in days. She stared out one of the windows, not looking at Kahrin when she spoke. “What did that mean? More fun to train?”

Kahrin flipped through stacks of uniform parts. “Most apostates already know how to do combat when we get them. They’ve been fighting their whole lives. Some have Circle training, but they--” she stopped and pressed her lips together. They’d escaped and had to make do on the fly.

Bethany seemed to understand, bobbing her head a few times. Her brow pulled tight, creasing it. “I’ve fought darkspawn. I’m not a child. Maker.”

“Good. We don’t keep children here.” She let out a hard breath at her poor choice of words. “And you lived. You were lucky for your guide.”

Bethany took the clothes Kahrin handed her and turned her back to change. “We were. He’s a friend of my sister. It all happened fast. Apparently those were the only choices, and none of them mine.”

“He was right.” There was no point sugarcoating it. Kahrin also turned to give her privacy. It was a small kindness as she adjusted to life at Weisshaupt. Soon she’d have to change in a bay full of people. No part of her life would be private any longer. “These things usually do happen fast. The tide of a battle can drag you in an undertow quickly.”

Bethany sighed and laid her old clothes on the cot, the maille clinking softly. “If you’re from Ferelden, you might know him.” Bethany glanced over her shoulder. “I didn’t get your name.”

“I didn’t give it.” It wasn’t likely. She hadn’t been a warden in Ferelden in a long time. Even before her exile. “It’s Kahrin.”

Bethany stopped, tunic pulled into place, and finally turned to face her. “Wasn’t that the--” She gaped a moment, then found her words. “You’re the Hero of Ferelden?”

Kahrin sighed heavily. “I was. Or I guess I am, but I doubt you’ll hear my name in connection with it outside these gates.”

The woman’s eyes stayed fixed on her until Kahrin shifted her weight. No doubt a hundred rumors which had found their way to Kirkwall tumbled through her mind. Everyone had gossip about the fallen hero and disgraced queen. It was why she never talked to anyone unless she had to. More importantly, it was why she went day to day mostly ignored. That was how she preferred it.

“But you’re the queen.” Bethany shook her head. “Or, you were. That’s what I heard, right? Anders said you were married to King Alistair.”

Now was Kahrin’s turn to gape, though she caught herself and pressed her mouth shut. “That is a name I haven’t heard in a long time.” Pain lanced through her belly and tightened her chest. Her face stayed masked. “To be honest, I thought he was long dead.” Along with their daughter. Bann Teagan -- Arl now if she had the right of it -- had never returned her letters, nor Fergus. She had assumed the worst, mourned, and put both Anders and Elyssa behind her with all the other losses.

Bethany shook her head ‘no’ almost imperceptibly. Her jaw tightened. 

Resolve slipping for a moment, Kahrin worked her jaw, then collected herself. “That’s good. That’s a relief to hear. We were--” What were they? There was no end to that sentence. Too much and too little all at once. Finally Kahrin knew why Stroud had sent Bethany to her. She didn’t yet know if it was kindness or punishment. “We were.”

Bethany wasn’t simple. The pieces clicked together in a mix of flitted expressions on her face, and Kahrin wondered how much she knew. “Then you--”

“I thought he was dead.” Kahrin slapped both hands lightly down onto her lap before standing. “I bet you’re starving.”

It was on her tongue to ask more, but Kahrin saw her bite it back. “I am. The rations on the road weren’t good. I’ve had worse.” She shrugged easily. She pulled the final leather strap on her elbow-length gloves. When she looked up she offered a tight smile.

“But you’re hungrier now. I know.”

“Starving. And hot.” 

“Yup.” Kahrin exhaled deeply. “Come on. We have a lot to do.”


	2. Chapter 2

“How did you do that before?” Bethany picked up an ewer from a bucket and took a long drink. Drops dribbled down her chin and spattered patterns on the dry ground. 

Kahrin waited, arms crossed. Her features froze into a hard mask. “Do what?”

Working with the new mage wardens had long been a task she enjoyed. Never before had anyone so insistently demanded she take special interest in one the way Stroud had pushed for this. 

“You know.” She replaced the ewer and picked her staff up again. “You knew I was new. I’ve seen you fight with some of the others. You move close without running into each other.”

Kahrin set her helm on the low wall and leaned against it. Her lips thinned out as she sighed. “Close your eyes.”

Bethany didn’t so much as blink before she complied. “You aren’t going to hit me again?”

Kahrin snorted. It was a fair question. Mages made powerful and useful Wardens, though some of them weren’t used to taking hits in combat. The Wardens needed fighters they could depend on. Kahrin was relentless in teaching them to endure in a fight. “No. Not this time. I want you to push out with your senses.”

“Whatever that means,” Bethany muttered. She stood for a time, fidgeting from foot to foot. “It’s hot.”

Even though she couldn’t see her, Kahrin rolled her eyes. “It’s always hot. Keep going.”

Bethany stuck her tongue out, then took a breath and tried to focus. “I smell fire. And the forge.” She wrinkled her nose. “And the stables.”

“Be glad the aeries aren’t still occupied.” Kahrin crouched, picking up several stones. She took a couple of steps away, tossing one at Bethany’s feet.

As if subconsciously she stepped back as Kahrin advanced. “I can’t concentrate if you keep disrupting me.” She took another breath. 

“You need to learn to focus even through distraction.” She threw another rock near her foot. “Tell me what you sense.”

Bethany made a click in her throat. “People training.” She wiggled her fingers. “The Fade.”

As if she could see her, Kahrin nodded. “Closer than the Fade. In you.”

Silence fell as Bethany’s face smoothed until placid. “It’s like a pull.” She trailed off into quiet, her frown easing.

“Try to focus on that.” Kahrin stepped deftly and quietly in a circle until she was behind her.

Bethany’s head turned fractionally in the direction she moved. Then her feet followed. “There. You’re moving.”

“Mmhmm. Good.” She leaned against the wall again, propping the heel of one boot on the toe of the other.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Actually, all of you.”

“Good,” Kahrin said more enthusiastically than she’d meant to be. “You need to use that. Know where your allies are, and where--”

“The darkspawan are.” Bethany’s eyes blinked open, the shine of having grasped something in them. “That’s how you know when they’re coming. How we knew where to find the Wardens to help us. Right?”

Kahrin inclined her head. They danced around the topic of common acquaintances but hadn’t spoken of it directly again. Kahrin considered it a kindness. “Exactly. Let’s get back to training.”

Mages who had lived as apostates their whole lives were more interesting to train. Less afraid to attack directly, and less likely to shrink away from her when she disrupted them. 

“You sure you’re ready?” Bethany’s eyes danced for the first time since she’d arrived. Fingers curled lightly around her staff.

“You ready to be knocked on your ass?” Kahrin breathed, focused and felt the comfort of pommels in her grip like extensions of her arms. That kernel she could reach for deep in her belly was always at the ready. She’d come a long way since the Blight, being able to channel that power with ease. Now she used it to help mages survive. “Don’t hold back. I’ll know.”

Bethany pulled up from the ground with her hands and Kahrin felt the Fade shudder. Fire sprung to life at Bethany’s fingers and she flung it as effortlessly as she breathed. 

Swords in her hands, Kahrin neutralized it without a thought. And the next one.

“You’re a templar!” Bethany narrowed her eyes 

She advanced aggressively, not slowing when Bethany yanked her hands downward and rained fire around them. “Sort of.”

She was good. Better than good. She was one of the most talented mages Kahrin had ever fought beside. Creative in how she used basic spells to protect herself.

Kahrin ducked, covering her head. She tumbled back, buying herself space, then pushed her arms out in front of herself. She felt the snap of the Fade, like an earthquake with no sound. Bethany’s feet flipped out from under her, tumbling her back.

“Get up!” Kahrin barked. She brought both pommels down at her. “You think darkspawn are going to wait after you fell down?”

Bethany rolled out of the way of impact, then pushed up from the ground quickly. Long and lean, she wasn’t built like most mages Kahrin had known. There was nothing willowy or frail-looking about her. Years of running and hard work had given her a strength that was unforgiving in hand-to-hand. She steadied herself on shaky legs and gripped her staff. Kahrin could see and feel her reaching for the Fade and producing only a small spark.

“You have to learn to fight without it.” Kahrin leaned her weight on her back foot, ready to spring.

Bethany’s eyes widened, olive knuckles tightening around her staff. She stepped forward, swinging wide with her staff.

Kahrin barely skittered out of reach. The old grin she used to wear easily while fighting found its way to her face. Kahrin crossed her swords and braced for the impact just in time to catch the staff between the blades. She buckled back enough to absorb the blow.

“I know how--” she grunted and turned, bringing the staff in from the other side, “how to fight. My brother taught me.”

Kahrin ducked low, feeling the whoosh of the staff barely clearing her head. “Mine too.” She advanced again, pulling hits as she pressed her back. As she was satisfied Bethany could counter them blow for blow, alternating ends of her staff, she stopped holding back.

“You’re hitting too hard.” She punctuated every word with a grunt, turning to compensate for Kahrin, who circled about her. She found herself facing into the sun.

“Do you think darkspawn are going to go easy on you because you’re new? Because you’re tired? Because you’re separated from your magic?” Kahrin retreated enough to give herself room. “You’re not a little girl in the deep roads anymore, Hawke.” She kicked out and hooked a foot around her leg. Bethany stumbled but didn’t fall. “I might have you at my back one day. I need to trust you.” One swing immediately followed by her second sword, Kahrin knocked the staff from her hands.

For a single heartbeat Bethany looked at a loss. Kahrin felt the Fade ripple around them moments before the ground iced over beneath her feet. 

She slipped back, grabbing Bethany’s arm to catch her balance. She only needed one steady step to gather weight and lunge forward. Her swords tumbled to the ground with a clatter. She caught her around the waist and bore them both to the ground with an oof and a hard thud.

Bethany stared at the sky, panting shallow breaths. Kahrin rolled off of her then hopped up. She offered her a hand, pushing hair back from her face. Bethany took it but used mostly her own strength to lever herself from the ground. She swiped the back of her gloved hand across her forehead, making her fringe stick to it in clumps. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Kahrin stooped and splashed water from the bucket onto her face. “You think quickly on your feet. You didn’t give up when you couldn’t use magic.” Kahrin glanced up at her. “You’re a natural. Like you were born to be a Warden.” She swallowed, eyes staring off at nothing. “I’ve guided a lot of mages through this. It’ll also help you fight templars. Should the need arise.”

A curve turned up Bethany’s lips. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

Kahrin picked up her swords one at a time. “Not everyone will mean that as a compliment.” She gave her a level look. “I do. But being a Warden is all I have left.”

Several thumping heartbeats passed them in silence. Bethany lifted one shoulder and let it drop, tugging at the collar of her robes. Her face softened just a little. “I don’t believe that.”

Kahrin met her eyes, face masked again. She didn’t answer right away, sheathing both of her weapons. “You better clean up. Chow is at the next bell and you stink.”

She stalked away, leaving Bethany in the yard.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops. I forgot I hadn't finished this. I apologise to anyone who was waiting for it.

Kahrin looked at the piece of paper in her hand, then back to Stroud’s face. “Nordbotten?”

He nodded but didn’t say anything. He poured wax over several pieces of correspondence, then pressed his signet into each one. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to hide it or not, but she noticed one was to the king of Ferelden, and one to the Commander of the Grey of the same. They were likely related to the paper in her hand—her new orders.

The third was leave paperwork and what looked like orders to Ansburg. Before he folded it she craned her neck to read it. For Hawke.

“You’re sending me to the ass crack of nowhere?”

Stroud set aside his wax and ring. “I am sending you to a remote post where you will patrol alone. It’s a glorified weather lookout. You’ll have little to no oversight. It’s a good post for a trusted Warden. First Warden agrees.”

“Let’s not pretend I’m the most trusted Warden.” She crossed her arms, the letter still in one hand, bobbing up and down as she bounced it. 

He gestured to the letters on his desk. “To some, not at all. I suspect there are those who will never forgive you for what you’ve done.” He lifted his shoulders and let them drop. Kahrin held his eyes with her own, her frown deep and brow furrowed. “Least of all, yourself, Warden Cousland.”

He gripped the edge of his desk as if he might push away. “This is a good posting. It’s privacy and responsibility without the eyes of your brothers and sisters constantly on you. Supplies will be delivered every few weeks, and you’ll send your logs back with the wardens who deliver them.” He let out a heavy breath and leaned forward, brushing a finger and thumb over his facial hair. “I did this as a favor. It’s a good place for the Hero of Ferelden to spend her final years. In quiet.”

Kahrin was not a woman often made speechless, even in the years she’d spent at the fortress. Her silence was usually her own choice. She looked at Stroud now, not sure where he’d been hiding this kindness for her. In his mustache, maybe.

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.” He waved a hand as if he’d offered her a glass of water and not a generous posting. “You’ve done excellent work with our mages. I am especially pleased with your work with Warden Hawke.”

Stunned again, she nodded slowly. “She’s a good warden. I didn’t think she’d amount to much but she proved herself.”

“I am impressed with the way you’ve taken her under your wing. I assume you’ve gotten what you need from her.” He looked up as he put his things away. He lifted the leave orders for Bethany and held them out to her. 

“I’m sorry?” She took the papers.

“You are not confused. The woman comes from Kirkwall. That is where the mage once under your command is, now.” They both knew his name, she wasn’t sure why he avoided it now. “He convinced me to Join the girl and bring her here. Sending her to you was the best I could do to give you an update on your, shall I say, familial situation.”

Kahrin blinked. 

“Take those papers to Hawke. I trust I do not have to further explain what to do. Dismissed.”

Kahrin looked at him as if he were a new person before she turned on her heel and strode out.

Bethany wasn’t difficult to find. Kahrin knew her daily routine, and found her at chow. Kahrin helped herself to a mug of tea before crossing the room towards her. Two junior wardens scurried out of the way to avoid her. taking a seat next to the woman. She slid the papers across the table. “Looks like you’re getting sprung.”

“My sister.”

Kahrin sipped her tea. “Mhm.” She tapped a finger on the table in a staccato rhythm, fear coiling in her belly. They didn’t talk about this, very purposefully. “Tell me about Kirkwall.”

Bethany looked over her papers. “Something’s on your mind. You never want to hear personal things.”

Kahrin shrugged. “So? I’ve been putting up with you for months. I can ask personal questions if I want to. Besides I outrank you. Shut up and talk.”

“I can’t shut up  _and_  talk.” Bethany had a smile that dripped mischief, and she turned that on Kahrin now.

“Don’t be a smartass. It’s not cute on you.”

“One, yes it is. Two, admit you like me and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“You know, this was a bad idea. Enjoy your leave.” Kahrin pushed up from the table and started walking out of the hall.

Bethany scurried up behind her, leaving her meal uneaten. “Wait. I apologize. I just thought—“

Kahrin grunted but kept walking, her boots hard on the stones. “You thought this relationship we have meant anything to me other than the joy I find in knocking you into the sawdust.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bethany pull a face. “No.”

“It’s fine.” Kahrin walked faster. “I’m being re-stationed anyhow. Not a moment too soon for either of us. Attachments are a weakness.”

Bethany stopped walking, arms crossed. “You don’t believe that. You can lie and tell me that crap all you want, but you like me, and I know what you want to know, but you’re too afraid of looking like you care about anything to even be nice long enough to ask.”

Kahrin rounded and jabbed a finger through the air towards her. “You will remember who you’re speaking to, Warden Hawke.”

Bethany straightened up, pulling to the full six inches she had over Kahrin. “I do remember. I remember the person who helped me settle in, who made me feel like this might not be the worst thing that happened to me. You might think you’re cold and callous and scary, but you’re not. Whatever happened, you’re still hurting, and I think that teaching me helps that. You might hate the idea of me but you love that you made me proud to be a Warden, and that I look up to you, because being the Hero is not enough.”

Kahrin regarded her for a long time, arms crossed over her chest. Her lips thinned as she tilted her head, a fraction to one side, then the other, considering her words then let a groan. “You’re right.” She sighed. “When you came here you thought you’d lost everything. You needed something to fill that void.”

A stern look crossed Bethany’s face a she held Kahrin’s gaze. “Is that what you did? Fill the holes of what you lost with being a warden?”

Nostrils flared as Kahrin breathed in, then out. “I lost everything I loved until being a Warden was all I had left because I was foolish.” She ran a hand over her hair, resting it on her braided buns. “I am not the person you want to look up to.”

Bethany waved the papers in her hand. “My sister says there’s a little girl living with them. I think she’s six, maybe seven. Dany and her friends help her father take care of her.”

Kahrin didn’t say anything, but her lips parted. Her hands tightened on her own arms. 

“I’m not stupid, Warden-Constable. That’s your daughter.”

“I didn’t know—“ She stopped before her voice could crack.

“I know. You wanted to ask but you didn’t.”

She fumbled for words, angry that she couldn’t keep her emotions out of it. “It was easier when I thought they were dead.”

Bethany toed the stones with her boot, looking down. “Do you want me to say anything to them?”

“No. No. Let them live their lives. I don’t have anything to offer.” She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. When she opened them, she smiled, tight and formal. “Thank you for telling me. Enjoy your leave and your new post. And, well, everything else.”

She didn’t wait for any other response, and strode away.

#

Kahrin knocked on the doorframe of the barracks. The only other warden in the room with Bethany looked up, took one look at her, and quickly excused herself, making her body flat against the door on her way to avoid touching Kahrin at all.

Bethany looked up, a questioning look on her face.

“I suppose you thought you were leaving without saying goodbye. So typical of you to have no respect for your mentor.”

Bethany nodded slowly, a smile fighting to creep over her face, but she kept it mostly hampered. “Oops.”

Kahrin crossed the floor, hands firm on her hips. “Yeah, well. I tried my best to teach you. I only had so much to work with.” She scrutinized her, looking for any flaw to point out, and found none. Not in her uniform, which was smart and clean, not in her hair which was secured, not even in her boots which were well-polished as if for review. Nothing.

“I was an amazing student. You’re going to miss me. I know.”

Kahrin snorted softly, her lips turning up crookedly before she started talking. “It’s going to be weird, going home. People are still going to look at you like the little girl they remember, especially older siblings. But they’re also going to expect you to be able to take point in a fight, look to you for advice. You’re some kind of hero now. There was no Blight there, so you won’t be a celebrity, but you’ll be treated with a reverence that’ll make you want to get out of a crowd fast.”

Bethany laughed, then covered her mouth. “Okay.”

Kahrin straightened the scaled overtunic on Bethany’s robes and sighed. “Wear your uniform whenever you can, or at least most of it, even if you’re drinking in a tavern. People will give you a berth, even templars. Look people in the eye. You’re a warden now, you shrink from nothing and no one.”

“Okay.”

“But don’t start fights. And don’t forget to—“

“I know. Okay.” She smiled, her eyes soft, and stepped back. “You’ve given me everything I need. I’m going to be fine.”

Kahrin rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. “I know. I just don’t know that I will.”

“You will.” Bethany looked down at her with a sigh. “You don’t like being alone as much as you pretend.”

“What do you know?” Kahrin jerked her chin at her.

“Everything you taught me. Thank you.”

Kahrin watched her quietly for a time, the sounds of sparring outside breaking up the silence until she said, “You’re welcome.”

She turned on her heel and left without looking back.


End file.
